Sharing some thoughts

For some people the gospel reading that we have just heard (John 1:1-14) is an essential part of Christmas. Unlike any of the other gospels John doesn’t try and give us a biography of Jesus. The nativity story as we know it from the other gospels isn’t told as John sets out a bigger picture.  In his majestic words he talks of ‘the word’ – ‘in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God’ and later, ‘the word became flesh and lived among us…’ It’s beautiful language and it spoke to the various audiences that would read this gospel – the word was a term used by  Jewish and Greek theologians and philosophers  – in Hebrew scripture the word was an agent of creation, the source of God’s message to his people through the prophets. In Greek philosophy the word was the principle of reason that governed the world, and in Hebrew thought the word was another expression for God.  As John writes of Jesus as the word he is powerfully chall...

Today is the last Sunday in Advent. We’re nearly at Christmas  –   most of the shopping has been done, most of the cards delivered, but we have a few precious days of advent left – a time to reflect again on what it’s all about.  And our readings today really help us to do that. In the Old Testament we heard from the prophet Micah (5:2-5a) with the incredible prophecy that it was in this little town of Bethlehem of Ephrathah that the Saviour would be born. Much of the Book of Micah is a book about injustice and even judgement. It’s about people who claimed to believe in God but whose lives didn’t show any evidence of it making a difference.  From this small town  of Bethlehe m  God would reveal once again his incredible power with a child born to change the world. God didn’t need grand  palaces,  he didn’t need to use political power or wealth. He simply showed his love in offering a relationship.  So often it’s easy for us to be...

From Helen Have you ever had that feeling of being  away from  home ?   I remember someone looking after a dog for their friend. Their friend lived in Germany and as they looked after the dog they found him very badly behaved. They tried every type of command they could think of. ‘Sit’, ‘come here’, ‘behave’ nothing worked until they realised that the dog understood German not  English !!  Who would have thought  it If I said to you, ‘home sweet …’ what would the next word  be ?  If I said, ‘Home is where the ……… is,  ‘ what  would be the missing word ? How about, ‘there’s nowhere like ….. ’. Home is a beautiful word, it is a word that conjures up lovely images. It may be a nice cuppa, it may be a family meal, it may be your bed,  it  may be your favourite armchair or settee. Home is an incredible word. I have noticed that sayings about home are generally very positive and the statement home is where the heart is probabl...

Advent is a really strange time in the Christian calendar I think. It is, along with lent, the most solemn season of the year – flowers are taken out of Church, the Gloria is omitted from the service, and the colour of the season is purple – only used otherwise for lent and for funeral services. And yet, whilst we have few problems in recognising lent as a time for self sacrifice and for reflection, this always seems more difficult during advent. And it doesn’t take a genius to work out why. Outside Church everyone and everything seems to be getting ready for Christmas – decorations are going up, carols are being sung, Christmas music is playing in the shops, and there are dinners and concerts and parties to attend. There is a huge contrast between advent in Church life, and the preparation for Christmas going on everywhere else. And this perhaps reminds us of the huge contrast that there is between so much of what we as Christians proclaim and celebrate and the thoughts and pract...